Existing commercial photographic silver halide color materials form dye images by the reaction of oxidized p-phenylenediamine color developers with a color coupler. The color developing solutions employed contain the color developing agent and used developer solutions need to be disposed of safely. Attempts have been made to incorporate p-phenylenediamine color developing agents into silver halide photographic materials but these have had little success largely due to the pronounced staining produced.
The use of aryl sulphonhydrazides as color developers in aqueous color developer solutions which form an azo dye on coupling with a color coupler are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,256. The hues of such dyes are not suitable for full color reproduction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,268 describes the use of certain aryl- and heterocyclic-sulphonhydrazides to produce metallizable azo or azomethine dyes which are subsequently metallized to form very light-stable dye images. While the specification does indicate that such sulphonhydrazides can be incorporated in the photographic material, no further information or examples are given. The hue of the dye is, of course, altered by the metallization process.